The £7m investment to improve the stretch of the East Lancs Road - which sees around 43,000 vehicles pass through a day – began in August 2018 to increase junction capacity; improve pedestrian safety, smooth traffic flow and provide better access in and out of St Helens.

The improvements include:

Controlled pedestrian crossings on all arms of the junctions, including Toucan cycling crossings on the southern and eastern arms) using the latest energy efficient traffic signal equipment

A new four lane southbound approach to Windle Island Junction, providing a dedicated left turning lane to A580 eastbound towards Manchester and a dedicated right turning lane to A580 westbound towards Liverpool

The reintroduction of two lanes southbound through the junction, with the left hand lane for St Helens Town Centre via Rainford Road (including Tesco and Starbucks access), and the right hand lane for Eccleston and Prescot via Bleak Hill Road

A new left turn deceleration lane from A580 westbound onto A570 southbound to reduce queue lengths and improve safety

Two dedicated right turn lanes from the A580 westbound (towards Liverpool) onto the A570 northbound (towards Rainford). This will reduce queue lengths.

A new 40 mph speed limit around the junction to improve safety

More than half of the Windle Island junction improvement scheme has been funded by the Local Growth Fund through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Single Investment Fund to address key issues in St Helens and support economic growth in the wider area.